7 amazing celebrities who have left Mediacorp: Collapse of local media Industry?

Mediacorp was the childhood for many. I remember rushing to sit in front of the television when the clock showed 9. When the 9 p.m. drama series comes on Channel 8, I would watch it together with my family. I am pretty sure it is the same for many families; perhaps just different channels.

However, it appears that in recent years, many beloved Singapore celebrities have left Mediacorp. Does this signal the fall of the great media company? Well, let’s first take a look at 7 of the more prominent celebrities who have left.

*Format: Name (Years as Mediacorp Artiste)

1. Michelle Chong (2005 – 2011)

Leticia Bongnino

You should be able to recognise this talented actress who is able to mimic accent of various nationalities. She has played as Leticia Bongnino in the Channel 5 show The Noose and is now making a name for herself as Ah Lian on her own channel.

2. Gurmit Singh (1994 – 2014)

Gurmit Singh

MediaCorp’s former artiste was an actor, host and comedy performer. I am pretty sure you would already have known this but he was also the actor behind the famous persona Phua Chu Kang.

Phua Chu Kang was my childhood 😢

After 20 years in the industry, he has left to spend more time with his family. Fortunately for fans, he is still willing to take on artiste engagement on a selective basis and can be found hosting some events.

3. Dasmond Koh (1997 – 2015)

Dasmond Koh at NoonTalk Media. Source: Today

A full-time deejay recruited by Mediacorp, Koh won many awards while still fairly new to the television industry. Fans would also remember him as the host of the television series Hey! Gorgeous.

Dasmond Koh’s involvement with Mediacorp

He has since gone on to manage his own agency and has groomed several famous celebrities.

Most notably Aloysius Pang and Xu Bin. Source: FrozenAge

4. Julie Tan (2008 – 2017)

Source: Yahoo!

Born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Julie Tan appeared in many of Mediacorp’s projects. She was also the host of A Date with K-pop Stars where she interacted with many K-pop idols. Unkown to many, She was given the chance to be part of K-pop girl group Skarf.

She has left Mediacorp in June 2017 to further her career in China.

5. Ann Kok (1993 – 2014)

Ann Kok left Mediacorp quite a while ago. Source: Asiaone

After reaching the finals in the local talent-search competition Star Search, she started her acting career taking on many leading roles. In the year 2000, she tried to venture overseas to expand her acting career. However, she did not receive much success and returned back to MediaCorp in 2005.

She then left the company again in 2014, only to return in 2015 for the Chinese drama, Crescendo.

6. Jeanette Aw (2002 – 2017)

Jeanette Aw. Source: Straits Times

One of the most popular and high-profile celebrities in Singapore, she holds the record for most number of awards won. She was also the female lead in The Little Nonya, one of the best drama series ever made in Singapore.

She announced her departure from Mediacorp on 13 October via her Facebook page.

7. Tay Ping Hui (1998 – 2018)

Tay Ping Hui acting in C.L.I.F.

The latest celebrity to announce departure from Mediacorp, Tay has signed a contract with a Chinese entertainment company.

Tay already has international experience from his work in 2007 on The Legend and the Hero where he acted alongside Fan Bing Bing.

This list is just a small collection of all the celebrities to have left Mediacorp. Many other celebrities have also left citing reasons such as furthering career abroad or family reason. Celebrity couple Kate Pang and Andie Chen left the agency to start their own family.

However, it does not seem like Mediacorp will fall anytime soon. Newcomers into the industry are biding their time to pounce on any given opportunity. Mediacorp’s drama series, While We Are Young, simply showcases the abundance of talent they possess.